Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) vs. Redgate SQL Monitor

More appropriate for:

• Pure Microsoft ecosystem environments (Windows Server and SQL server) and the most common Linux and UNIX platforms.
• Environments where cost is less of a factor than settling on a single platform for monitoring
• Environments where the administrators are familiar with the setup and installation of SCOM.

Less appropriate for:

• Pure UNIX/Linux shops, especially versions not supported out of the box by SCOM.
• Shops that cannot afford the engagement to setup/configure and maintain on a continuous basis.
• Shops that cannot dedicate personnel to the care and feeding of SCOM, especially when supporting larger environments.

Incentivized

Redgate SQL Monitor is well suited for database administrators or companies who implement software that relies on SQL servers. It will help them test new changes and ensure this will not impact the performance of their software. It is a last resort for MSPs to use to get to the bottom of an ongoing performance issue with their SQL server.

Incentivized

• Allows us to visualize our systems in a single interface and see the status of health as well as relevant performance metrics.
• A flexible and powerful interface with active alerting covering domain controllers, SQL servers, etc...
• Allows you to customize your views and workspaces for specific tasks and needs.
• Reporting is powerful and flexible.

Incentivized

• It will tell you if your server is under attack.
• You can quickly see how your server is performing and which queries are taking the longest
• I gives you the feeling that you are in control of your database, that you know what is going on for when they users ring up and tell you that the server is slow

Incentivized

• One of the biggest drawbacks to SCOM is the sheer scope and complexity of the system. This can be a pro and a con. The system is very customizable, what you put into it is what you'll get out of it. That said, the learning curve is fairly steep. An organization needs to be committed to putting time and resources into SCOM to get the most out of it. I've heard stories from colleagues of several different companies that invested in SCOM and then abandoned it due to the excessive time and care required.
• SCOM is expensive. Not only is the enterprise licensing costly, SCOM requires it's own servers, operational and warehouse databases to be maintained.
• The OOB SCOM reports are a bit clunky and feel outdated.

Incentivized

• Incremental releases can be buggy
• Isn't the best for pinpointing performance issues
• Web interface can be sluggish

Incentivized

Access to metrics is simple but I like easy access to top SQL

Hard to get support. The product is not being actively developed anymore, so it is hard to get new features for the product.

Incentivized

Fast support responses from Redgate

Incentivized

We used Altiris and WSUS and in the beginning Altiris had the better admin interface than SCOM, but it is no longer the case as SCOM has refined their admin interface. Altiris still has better and more robust group assignments for management roles and those two other tools can better manage non Windows OS devices than SCOM but for a large enterprise Windows shop, if you can afford it, SCOM is the way to go.

Incentivized

Redgate SQL Monitor is a lot cheaper than SolarWinds Database Performance Analyzer. I prefer the SolarWinds' design and that it offers integration with other SolarWinds products we already use. SolarWinds supports more than SQL servers (Oracle, MySQL, Maria DB, IBM DB2) and the analysis seems to be much better. The Spiceworks SQL Server monitoring is a free tool and is ideal for monitoring small business SQL instances.

Incentivized

• It has allowed us to provide an Enterprise Event/Alert management solution to the Global company
• It has taken a long time to get it to provide valuable alerts and information, lots of user resources and investment.
• It assists with 24/7 monitoring and out of hours support

Incentivized

• The quality of the product and give a negative investment impression, on the plus side when it does work it is a god send.
• Day to day tasks as made simpler, and a feeling of security of realised. Just don't change anything.

Incentivized